Calau

For other uses, see Calau (disambiguation).

Calau
Town hall of Calau
Calau
Location of the town of Calau within Oberspreewald-Lausitz district
Coordinates	51°44′45″N 13°57′3″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Oberspreewald-Lausitz
Town subdivisions	Town of Calau and 11 Ortsteile
Mayor	Werner Suchner (Ind.)
Basic statistics
Area	162.59 km2 (62.78 sq mi)
Elevation	93 m  (305 ft)
Population	8,522 (31 December 2010)
- Density	52 /km2 (136 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	OSL (formerly: CA)
Postal code	03205
Area code	03541
Website	www.calau.de/

Calau with parish church

Calau 1758

Calau (German pronunciation: [kaːlaʊ], Sorbian: Kalawa) is a small town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 14 km south of Lübbenau, and 27 km west of Cottbus. Calau is also called the home of the Kalauer.

Geography

The Town of Calau is situated in the middle of the Niederlausitz, about 27 km west of Cottbus at the eastern edge of the Lower Lusatian Ridge Nature Park as well as at the southern edge of the famous Spreewald.

The area around Calau is strongly characterized by former brown-coal-mining sites, which are valuable retreat areas for animals and plants nowadays. Many places are left to nature after recultivation, the Heinz-Sielmann-Stiftung adopted numerous areas, others are managed near-natural and sustainably by the "Landesforstverwaltung". Foresters offer walking tours through the region. Particularly the "Geologische und Naturlehrpfad Luttchensberg" is a sight to see.

Town Subdivisions

• Stadt Calau
• Ortsteil Bolschwitz
• Ortsteil Buckow
• Ortsteil Craupe with Radensdorf and Schrakau
• Ortsteil Gollmitz with Settinchen
• Ortsteil Groß Jehser with Erpitz and Mallenchen
• Ortsteil Groß-Mehßow with Klein Mehßow
• Ortsteil Kemmen with Säritz und Schadewitz
• Ortsteil Mlode with Rochusthal
• Ortsteil Saßleben with Kalkwitz and Reuden
• Ortsteil Werchow with Cabel (Village) and Plieskendorf
• Ortsteil Zinnitz with Bathow (Village)
  • Zinnitz has about 300 residents. It was first mentioned in 1255 as Cinnicz. The Name means Ort wo Rohr/Schilf wächst (Place where cane/reed is growing). Known citizen of Zinnitz is Dietrich III. von Bocksdorf, bishop of Naumburg from 1463 to 1466.

Population

There are only a few people with sorbian roots living in Calau today, although the Sorbs were quite a large minority in 1843 with about 30.8 percent of the overall population. Following years the number of Sorbs decreased rapidly, 1900 only 3.5 percent of the population were sorbs.

Politics

Municipal Assembly

The municipal assembly (Stadtverordnetenversammlung) consists of 18 "Stadtverordneten" plus the "Buergermeister" (town mayor).

• The Left: 6 seats
• Christian Democratic Union: 4 seats
• Social Democratic Party of Germany: 3 seats
• Free Voters: 2 seats
• Alliance '90/The Greens: 1 seats
• Free Democratic Party: 1 seat
• German Social Union: 1 seat

(Stand: Kommunalwahl am 28. September 2008)

International Relations

• Viersen, Germany
• Valdivia, Chile

Historical Sites

Memorial for Joachim Gottschalk

• Memorial at the Karl-Marx-Straße/Ecke Parkstraße, 1928 initially dedicated to the first Reichspräsident Friedrich Ebert, destroyed by the Nazis in 1933, to be dedicated to the victims of National socialism in 1948, rededicated again in 1989 to the victims of Fascism and Stalinism
• Memorial for actor Joachim Gottschalk, whose jewish wife Meta and son Michael were to be deported whereupon the whole family decided to commit suicide on November 6, 1941. The bronce figure, which was created by Theo Balden in 1967, resembling the actor, was initially standing in the park but had to be moved due to the building of the local Sparkasse in the 1990s. It's new place is a memorial wall in the Joachim-Gottschalk-Straße 35.

Economy & Infrastructure

The transmitter station Calau, which belongs to the Deutsche Telekom radiates a variety of VHF-and TV-programmes of the rbb for Brandenburg. Its radio mast is a reinforced concrete tower of 190 m height, the so-called "Langer Calauer", in the southwest of town. It was built in 1982.

Traffic

There are no "Bundesstrassen" going through Calau, the motorway junction Calau is seven km to the northwest at the A 13.

Calau is situated at the railroad lines Cottbus–Leipzig and Lübbenau–Senftenberg.

Edification

Schools

• Primary school Calau, named Carl-Anwandter-Grundschule since 2008
• Comprehensive school, named Robert-Schlesier-Schule since 2007
• Academic high school, named Carlos Anwandter|Carl-Anwandter-Gymnasium Calau (closed since 2008)

Personalities

• Dietrich von Bocksdorf (* um 1410 in Zinnitz, † 1466 in Naumburg), bishop of Naumburg
• Erasmus Robert Freiherr von Patow (* September 10, 1804 in Mallenchen, † January 5, 1890 in Berlin), prussian politician
• Joachim Gottschalk (1904–1941), Actor
• Jean Pierre Vité (* June 11, 1923 in Groß Jehser), forestry scientist
• Carl Anwandter (April 1, 1801, † July 10, 1889), stands out as leader of the first contingent of German colonists sent by Philippi; Anwandter is also founder of the German school Valdivia (Chile)

References

Bibliography

• Richard Moderhack: Die ältere Geschichte der Stadt Calau in der Niederlausitz, Dissertation 1932

External links

• Offiicial Website Calau.de
• Website about the Carl-Anwandter-Gymnasium
• Website Groß Mehßow
• Website Reuden